- So, how's the writing going?
- I think it's pretty well, but the characters
that I introduce in this story aren't very developed
and so, yeah, I think that's the only thing
that I really need.
- Okay.
So you've written a story called
Surviving Aleppo and you have characters
in a very, very dangerous and tragic situation, right?
So say more about wanting to develop the characters.
Why do you feel you need to do that?
- Maybe like going to, well, their personal lives
a little more, 'cause I talk about them very broadly.
- Say more about that.
I mean, what it looks like you've done in this
and I think incredibly powerful and beautiful,
it's a very gripping piece of work to me as a reader,
is you have described, and you can tell me
if I'm wrong about this, you've described their
general situation, right?
And you have, it looks like you've also established
a lot of themes in your story, too.
Particular themes like you're constantly losing friends
and relatives while knowing your heart will be broken
at some point during this war.
You're really trying to dramatize war
and the effect it has on people.
So let's think a little bit about how to
do this work of developing characters more.
Because I agree with you, I think you've created kind of a,
you've talked about it broadly about their situation.
And I think you said you could talk about them
more personally and I agree with you on that.
I think that would be a good next step for you is
within the context that you've established so well
of describing the situation that these characters are in
to actually focus on, to figure out
who's your main character
and what can your main character do
or what could befall your main character
that would illustrate this theme that you have
of knowing your heart will be broken at some point.
This is a picture book called A Good Night for Freedom
and it's also, this is a book that deals with
very, very significant themes as well,
slavery in the 1800s and it's about
the underground railroad and there's a way
the writer could have written this in a very broad way, too,
she could've just described the general situation
that the main character was in and that slavery was
affecting her life because there were runaways going through
and runaway slave catchers trying to find them,
but what she did to develop the character
was tell one story about a main character
that really illustrated what was going on
and what happens in the story is the main character
visits Aunt Katie at this house here
and she goes down to the basement
and encounters two runaway slave girls.
And then later in the story she has to make a decision.
Is she going to, when the slave catchers come,
is she going to tell them that they're there
or is she not going to, and so she decides
to protect the slaves.
But it's a singular story that really shows
some of the ideas, the big ideas about how people
really took stance against slavery
and made very dangerous decisions
in the interest of protecting runaway slaves.
So, but I think that's probably the trick for you,
is to think of what's something that could happen
to your main character, so the thinking you could do
would be this, you could first say to yourself,
who is your main character and I'm speculating
on your theme based on what I'm seeing there,
but you have to say, what is my theme!
And then you have to say to yourself,
what story can I tell about that character
that would in some way show that theme?
So let's talk about that a little bit.
Your main character is.
- I hadn't really thought about that yet,
but that could also be something that I could work on.
- Do you have, this is a first person piece, right?
- Yeah.
- Do you have a name for the person
that's telling the story? - No.
- Let's just come up with a placeholder name for now.
Do you want to give this person a name?
- Annie.
- Alright, and you'll have to actually find a name
that is actually someone that would really be living
in Aleppo, but let's just say Annie
and she's in this situation and I think you have to
say to yourself, and is this your theme here,
your heart is going to be broken at some point
during this war, does that kind of encapsulate
what you're trying to explore and think about?
And you've suggested some things, too, right?
Of the situation, your heart's going to shatter to pieces.
What could happen to her?
What could happen in her life that would illustrate this?
Let's just talk out loud a little bit.
- There could be a tragedy in her family.
- [Instructor] Say a little more about that.
- Someone in her family gets killed.
- Okay, and that's obviously what you're writing about
in a piece like this because there are places in the world
like Aleppo where incredibly tragic things happen
that are just heartbreaking and to really explore
a really powerful theme and an important theme
for you to explore like this, sometimes you have to
tell a story that's really, really hard and devastating
to really illustrate what you're talking about.
So, I would say, you've done, I think,
just amazing thinking about the general situation
of how people find themselves
but to tell that singular story
would be a great step for you.
And there's something I read once that says
if you say 50,000 people died in a war,
or you tell the story of one person,
it's telling the story of one person
that really gets across the horrors of war,
not the stats and so I think by telling that story
that would be important for you.
So could you do some of that work right now,
just maybe on the back here,
just write your character's name, Annie,
and just sketch out a scenario
of what you could write about Annie
that would show these themes.
And then I'll check back with you in a little bit?
Okay, good talking to you.